NBA Championship odds are a perfect example of this: However, some bets can have multiple options to wager on, such as picking which team will win the championship before the season begins. Most sports betting options offer two sides, such as team vs. The greater the risk the bigger the reward but… the greater the risk. If something has a high probability of occurring, it has a lower risk and won’t pay out as much as something with a lower probability and greater risk.

Sportsbooks will set odds on these occurrences based on their probability of happening, allowing you to bet on the side you think will win with the sportsbook essentially taking the opposite of that opinion. There are thousands of sports betting options out there, but the basic premise behind it all is simply predicting that something will happen during a game or event and risking money on the chances of that occurring. While sports betting is quickly becoming a piece of mainstream sports culture, people new to it should still have that one key objective before placing their first bet: have fun.

Well before the legalization of sports betting in 2018, which set off a boom in the United States ($13 billion bet legally in 2019), sports fans enjoyed gambling on their favorite events and teams. The most important thing to know about betting on sports is that it’s fun.